College Life (Naruto World--Mostly Akatsuki)
by goddamndamndamn
Summary: Just your typical Naruto world college AU. Focuses mainly on the Akatsuki but everyone is there. Or will be.
1. Number 9

p class="MsoNormal"All of his life Deidara had lived in Iwagakure, seeing the same faces, the same places, and nothing ever changing. There was so much he wanted to do and experience, and Iwagakure was doing nothing to help him achieve that. It was precisely the reason he had decided to pick a college that was practically on the opposite side of the world from Iwagakure: Konoha. He'd heard good things about it, so he didn't need to worry about lacklustre teaching, and who knows? Life might be a little more interesting there than the monotony he'd gotten used to in Iwagakure. He hadn't exactly felt much sadness as he left, merely enjoying the trip as he travelled, wondering how things would turn out. Right away he felt freer, relishing the chance to be more independent. Iwagakure had never let him be like that, but he could do what he wanted now. Not to mention he had always looked younger than he was, which often meant people treated him like a kid, when that was nowhere near the case. Naturally, he wasn't about to let that happen here, and he'd show up anyone who tried to act otherwise./p  
p class="MsoNormal"Not that he'd been afraid to do so before. He'd got into plenty of fights in Iwagakure—just because he might be smaller, didn't mean he wasn't about to fight back. It wasn't just Deidara's size, however. He had opinions and views, and he had never been the kind of person to sit back and let someone badmouth them. Though there hadn't been many who shared those opinions in Iwagakure. He was an artist, and used his art to express so much of himself and his outlook on life. People had never got that, however, and it had frequently left him as an 'outcast', of sorts. Even though he had his parents, they never paid any attention to him. They were pretty much constantly on vacation, and ignored him if he em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"was/em around, so if they didn't care, why should he? They had never enforced any rules, and as such, as he started going to school he hadn't cared what rules he was supposed to obey or how he was supposed to act. Deidara wanted to be himself, and nothing more. If doing so meant he broke some rules, then so what? It only made it more fun overall. There might be some who would say he liked the attention—that he needed it after spending all those years without his parents giving any to him—but Deidara didn't listen to shit like that. He had his own reasons for doing things, and it was his opinion that mattered./p  
p class="MsoNormal"That wasn't to say he was about to shy away from making friends now he was going to college. He'd always been a social person, and moving to somewhere completely new, he'd be meeting so many new people along with it. And as much as he'd always been an outcast, Deidara wouldn't say he'd ever had a lot of enemies. Most of them were just jealous of him, whether it was his artistic talent, or his overall appearance. Deidara wouldn't describe himself as arrogant, per se, but he knew he was good looking. There were also plenty of girls in Iwagakure who would be willing to testify to that fact. Along with his general confidence, Deidara wasn't worried about moving to a new city and joining this college. It was just another part of life, and one he was going to make sure to enjoy thoroughly. He'd make his way, regardless of what got put in his path, a thought that was only cemented as the cab he'd gotten from the airport pulled up outside the college. Grinning at that, he handed the money he owed to the driver, before grabbing his stuff and stepping out, not looking back once as he passed through the gates./p  
p class="MsoNormal"Taking a good look over the campus, he had to admit, the general layout was pretty artistic, especially the buildings and sculptures that were dotted around. Already feeling good about his decision to come here, Deidara quickly pulled out the piece of paper that had all the details about what he should do upon arriving and looked it over. In the courtyard around the corner from the entrance, he would find the check in area where he could get the information for his classes and general stuff around the college. Checking the overview map, he'd already been given, Deidara realised his dorm was farther away than the check in, and decided it was easier to just pick up everything he needed on his way over there. It's not like he'd brought that much stuff with him anyway, so carrying his bags a little further wouldn't hurt. With that in mind, he picked up his bag once again and set off, heading in the direction of the courtyard./p  
p class="MsoNormal"Within ten minutes or so (most of which had been standing in the queue), Deidara had managed to collect all the information he needed, and already knowing where his dorm was, he made a quick check of the map to make sure he knew where he was going, and then set off again. He didn't pay much attention to the people around him—everyone was too busy concentrating on getting to their dorms and unpacking to really be focusing on meeting others and making friends. That would come later, meaning Deidara ambled his way through the campus, looking it over as he did so. At least this way he could get a better understanding of the layout, and might not end up so lost when he finally began his classes. Then eventually, he noticed on one of the signs nearby that his dorm was just up ahead, and smirked, pushing onwards down the path and checking each building he saw to make sure he got the right one./p  
p class="MsoNormal"Eventually he spotted it; Ame Hall. It was more on the outskirts of the campus than other dorms, tucked away in the abundance of foliage that seemed to be not only all over the campus, but the city as well. Deidara immediately liked it. It was quirky, with a character that he doubted many of the dorms on the campus had, and smirking at the idea he would be staying there, he continued down the path and up to the doors, pushing one open and sliding through. Once he was inside, he glanced down at the paper to see he was on the first floor, room number 9, and as such immediately headed for the stairs. Glancing down the corridor as he passed it, he saw the living room, and the kitchen beyond that, but at the moment, no one was around. Shrugging that off for the time being, Deidara continued up the stairs until he reached the first floor, at which point he went towards the nearest door to see what number was on it./p  
p class="MsoNormal"After checking a few doors, he realised his room was further down the left corridor, and therefore turned and headed down that way. All of the doors were closed, signalling he was pretty much one of the first people to arrive at the dorm—not that Deidara cared. Instead he focused on the numbers, and eventually picked out his room; right at the end of the corridor on the left side. Nodding in acceptance, having not thought about where his room might be and not caring about that fact, Deidara reached for the handle and opened the door, turning the light on as he stepped inside and looked around. It wasn't anything special—not that he'd been expecting something fancy—but it was bigger than he'd thought it would be. It didn't have an en-suite bathroom or anything, though Deidara hadn't been expecting it to. It just meant he'd have to deal with a schedule from now on. Though it was bare, that only left plenty of space to personalise, a thought that brought a smirk to Deidara's face, and leaving the door open for now, he threw his bags onto his bed and stretched, feeling good about how everything had turned out so far./p  
p class="MsoNormal"Glancing at his bags, he shrugged and headed for the bathroom—he might as well start unpacking. He didn't have much stuff, and there wasn't exactly anyone around to talk to, or anything he needed to do. True, he could go for a walk around the campus to see what he could find, but he wasn't particularly bothered. That would come with time, and he may as well get the unpacking over and done with. Having made that decision, however, as Deidara came out of the bathroom, he went straight to his bag and opened it up, looking over the contents in order to determine what would be going where. He considered this with each item he took out of the bag, placing them around the room where they fit best, immediately noting things he would buy in the meantime. He'd only really taken the basics, not seeing the point in travelling with a huge pile of stuff—not to mention he'd travelled a huge distance from Iwagakure to Konoha; it just made things difficult. Anything he needed he could buy in the city, and so it didn't bother him that the room might look a little bare to begin with./p  
p class="MsoNormal"Deidara was so busy unpacking and sorting out his room that he didn't even notice anyone coming down the corridor, his back turned to the door stopping him from seeing someone appear at the doorway. It was only as he heard a soft knock that he jolted out of his trance, and abruptly realising that the others living in the dorm would have to arrive sooner or later, he immediately turned around with a smirk to see his first dorm mate. His hair was raven black, long enough to hang down to his shoulders if he didn't have it tied back, with eyes just as dark and an intense, piercing gaze. Though he looked pretty serious, the look in his eyes was friendly, and a small smirk of his own graced his lips. Deidara would admit he was handsome—at least to himself—but at the same time, there was an aura he gave off that made Deidara consider the possibility he would be dangerous if crossed. For a moment there was silence, before the stranger broke it, greeting bluntly,/p  
p class="MsoNormal""I'm Itachi Uchiha."/p  
p class="MsoNormal"Instantly Deidara raised an eyebrow. He might be from Iwagakure, but he'd heard of the Uchiha conglomerate. He hadn't expected one of their family to be at Konoha university, and living in a dorm like this—they had the money to go anywhere. It was why Deidara responded suspiciously,/p  
p class="MsoNormal""Deidara. But…what's an Uchiha doing em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"here/em?" span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanspan style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanspan style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span/p 


	2. Number 1

p class="MsoNormal"Itachi had never been an anxious person. If there was something he needed to do, then he got on with it, regardless of those around him—something that tended to get passed down the Uchiha line. But even so, he had to admit he was a little…nervous, in a way. Not necessarily of what people would think of him, but just how this whole situation might turn out. He wanted it to go well; to feel a sense of belonging he'd never managed to find anywhere else. He wasn't ashamed of his name—of his family and heritage—but it did tend to get in the way of a lot of things in his life. The Uchiha name was renowned worldwide, on account of the conglomerate they had built up over generations. The higher positions, and the control of the company altogether, was always passed down to the next generation of the family, but Itachi could have handled that. Being a part of a famous company didn't necessarily mean he would be in the spotlight. However, seeing as his father was the one in charge of the whole conglomerate right now, it meant Itachi was the heir to the company./p  
p class="MsoNormal"That's why he had chosen to come to Konoha university. It gave him a clean slate. Ever since kindergarten people had treated him differently. Plenty of his extended family had called him 'the prince' as a nickname when he was little, getting doted on as he had been, and it was a name that had stuck from the moment he began his education. Teachers were afraid to tell him off if he did something wrong or misbehaved, and none of the other children would protest to any of his actions. It might have been fun at first, getting to be in charge and doing what he liked, but the novelty quickly wore off. He didn't want everyone to obey him like he was better than them—he just wanted to be another kid. It was the moments when he spent time with his family, just having a day out, staying at home together, playing with his little brother…that was what Itachi had always liked the most. There were never any pretences. He could just be himself. No one ever let him do that outside the house. The kids in his class either avoided him, afraid of what might happen if they did something wrong and upset the Uchiha family, or flocked to his side to be his 'friend', loving the fact his family was famous and rich./p  
p class="MsoNormal"Of course, it had only gotten worse in high school. That was when appearances mattered the most, and being friends with Itachi—just hanging out with him—immediately made them 'cool'. He was automatically popular, even if he didn't want to be. He focused instead on his school work, easily getting good grades, but no one ever seemed to care. His parents liked knowing he was doing well at school, but his friends couldn't care less. It was his family name they were interested in, and his opinions and likes were nothing but insignificant details. In a different life, Itachi might even have chosen a different path, refusing to take charge of the company when his dad retired and just living his own life. But Itachi was loyal to his family, and would do what was needed. That thought hadn't made school easy, however, and he found he became more and more distant as time went by. The only true friend he had when he was young was Shisui, which made it all the more painful when he died, and Itachi was once again left alone, unable to make real friends./p  
p class="MsoNormal"Something had to give, and eventually Itachi began to care less. His sadness at his isolation due to his background slowly turned to anger, causing him to push away the people around him and wanting to speak up and act, if only so someone would notice him for who he really was and actually pay attention to his personality. He'd always hated the idea of bullying from the beginning, but it was only now he had been willing to physically intervene. All the Uchiha's were trained in martial arts—a family tradition—and it gave him a chance to use them. It granted him an opening to let out his anger, even if it didn't truly make things better. Regardless of what he'd done, he still wasn't exactly seen as a troublemaker by the school with his family and his grades, but the students came to understand just what he could do. That it wasn't necessarily the Uchiha name to be afraid of, but Itachi himself if you crossed him./p  
p class="MsoNormal"Naturally, however, that was all in the past now. Itachi had moved on from his 'rebellious phase', and was often described as taciturn and composed. Nowadays it took a lot to anger him, and he was calm for the most part. But when it had come to the time to choose his college, Itachi had remained determined to go to Konoha. With his grades and his money, he could have gone to anywhere he wanted—there were plenty of private, elite colleges that would gladly have taken him—but that was precisely the reason Itachi didn't want to go. It was only here that he'd be able to get the freedom he wanted. So many people went to Konoha, the Uchiha name wouldn't mean so much when there was such a diverse alumnus. He could feel more at home than he'd ever done at his other schools, and he was determined not to get into that same state of mind he'd had in high school./p  
p class="MsoNormal"Itachi lived in the city, so he didn't have far to go, but still got to the campus early. He didn't want to have to announce himself, and things were still quiet this early on, meaning he could simply collect the information about his classes and the university in general and then head to his dorm. Itachi hadn't wanted to live at home while going to college, or to have a private dorm either. If he was going to be staying there, he wanted it to be like everyone else, and as such made his way through the campus in the direction of his hall. It was tucked away in a corner of the campus, something Itachi liked, and he felt positive when he saw it up ahead. Making his way inside, he checked his room number, and headed up the stairs when he saw it was on the first floor. After a quick glance, he went down the right corridor, finding his room was the last on the right side. It was perfectly habitable when he looked inside, and after sorting out the few possessions he had brought with him, he went back downstairs to wait for the rest of his stuff to be delivered./p  
p class="MsoNormal"It didn't take long to arrive, and Itachi immediately began to help out the movers, carrying things and joining in with the big stuff that needed more than one person. Then, once everything was offloaded and the movers had left, Itachi turned to organizing his things and sorting his room out, and when he finally finished, laid back on his bed in relief. At least now that was all done with. He knew the common protocol was to leave your door open in order to act as an invitation to anyone who was passing by and get the introductions started, but Itachi left it closed for the time being. He just wanted a little time alone to adapt—and from the sounds of things he was pretty much the only one in the building. He checked over his schedule and contemplated taking a walk around the campus to get his bearings, but decided he'd leave that until later, merely hanging out in his room and texting his parents to keep them up to date./p  
p class="MsoNormal"A little while later, however, and Itachi abruptly noticed the noises coming from downstairs, and that they were making their way up. Of course, there was no way to tell where exactly they were going, but as he listened, it was clear whoever it was hadn't gone up any further, merely heading down the corridor. Apparently his first floor-mate was moving in. Leaving it for the moment, silently allowing them the time to organise their room, Itachi eventually got up and exited his room to find the source of the noise. Looking down the corridor, he managed to spot the last door on the left side was open, and made his way over. Peering inside, he saw a guy with long blonde hair currently unpacking, and though tempted to let him finish, eventually dismissed the idea and knocked gently on his door. Instantly he turned around, allowing Itachi to see bright blue eyes—though one was covered with the length of his bangs—and a mischievous, almost fierce gaze. Somehow Itachi got the feeling he wasn't one to back down, or pay too much attention to the rules, for that matter. But as Itachi smiled in greeting, he returned it, prompting Itachi to greet bluntly,/p  
p class="MsoNormal""I'm Itachi Uchiha."/p  
p class="MsoNormal"He had to pause, however, as he saw the smirk on the guy's face grow, his eyebrow rising simultaneously, and Itachi knew instantly he knew who he was./p  
p class="MsoNormal""Deidara. But what's an Uchiha doing here, un?"/p  
p class="MsoNormal"Itachi ignored the suspicious tone to Deidara's voice, not about to start things off with assumptions about him and what he was like, and responded firmly,/p  
p class="MsoNormal""I have a right to choose where I go to college. My name shouldn't change anything—and I won't let it, for that matter."/p  
p class="MsoNormal"That answer seemed to placate Deidara, however, as he shrugged and replied playfully,/p  
p class="MsoNormal""Alright—no need to get defensive, un. It's a em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"pleasure/em to meet you, Itachi Uchiha."/p  
p class="MsoNormal""Likewise," Itachi shot back dryly, though a smile flickered across his features./p  
p class="MsoNormal""So, you on this floor, un?" Deidara swiftly questioned, and nodding, Itachi jerked his thumb behind him and answered casually,/p  
p class="MsoNormal""Yeah—I'm on the opposite end, right side of the corridor."/p  
p class="MsoNormal"But as Deidara turned back to his possessions, Itachi realised what he was doing, and turned to the hallway, saying apologetically,/p  
p class="MsoNormal""I just came to introduce myself—I'll let you get on."/p  
p class="MsoNormal""Sure—see you later, then, un," Deidara replied as he glanced over his shoulder to look at him, and with that, Itachi fully turned from Deidara's room and went back down the corridor, feeling that had gone better than expected. Evidently the introductions weren't over yet, though, as the moment Itachi reached the stairs he found himself facing off against someone—this time, however, they were a lot taller than him. Blinking in surprise at his blue skin and the gills on his face, that soon faded at the smile on his face and open, friendly expression he carried./p  
p class="MsoNormal""Uh…hey." span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span/p 


	3. Number 7

p class="MsoNormal"Kisame wasn't quite sure how to feel about things at the moment. Sure, it was good to move on from high school, and even from Kirigakure entirely. The moment he'd graduated, and it came time to choose where to go to college and Kisame knew right away he wanted to get away from Kirigakure. It allowed him to leave behind a whole load of bad memories and things he'd rather forget. College was an entirely different set up, after all, with an atmosphere and circumstances that Kisame was certain he would like better. Kirigakure had always been rather severe—almost military—in the way their education system worked, so subsequently researching what options were available, Kisame had chosen Konoha. There was more freedom and not so many regulations, and Kisame had felt more relief as the date drew nearer than he had expected. There would be no more assumptions about how he was supposed to act or look or be. Everyone could be their own person in college, and that was what Kisame was looking forward to. A chance to move on and find his own niche to fit into./p  
p class="MsoNormal"Of course, that state of mind had wavered as Kisame had made his journey to Konoha. People were people, when it came down to it, so there were always going to be those who judged you. But when Kisame looked the way he did, it seemed a lot easier for people to do that. There was no reason to believe things would be different. No one had ever expected anything of him; they took one look and that was it. It was what his parents had done. Kisame had never really wanted much from life, apart from being accepted and feeling like he belonged. Even if he'd been alone at the start, he'd made friends, having always been easy going and enjoying joking around. The only problem was that it had changed as he got older. Throughout middle school and high school suddenly it didn't matter what he was like or whether he was easy to get on with; he was a freak, simple as. People he'd thought were friends abruptly turned on him and even those he begun hanging out with seemed to abuse his friendship to practically use him as a hired thug./p  
p class="MsoNormal"Still; he enjoyed the fights./p  
p class="MsoNormal"It had been hard to trust people in a situation like that, and Kisame remained feeling that way as he sat on the plane, staring out the window and lost in his thoughts as he got closer to Konoha. Why should he trust anyone there after all that had happened in the past? No one had ever paid attention to what he did or anything he was good at because of what he looked like—would that even change just because he was in a different location? But realising what he was thinking, Kisame forcefully shook it off. He'd left Kirigakure to leave that all behind. He didn't want to focus on the past, so he'd deal with what was in front of him—whatever that may be. Coming to Konoha meant he could get away; start afresh. The city itself was bigger and more diverse than Kirigakure, so, along with the college, that made for a pretty multifarious collection of people. If there was anywhere he could belong, why shouldn't it be here?/p  
p class="MsoNormal"Though a shiver of anxiety ran up his spine as Kisame stepped out of the cab, handing the fare to the driver and facing the gates of the college, it didn't stop a smile from breaking out on his face. Nerves were to be expected, but they didn't have to hold him back. With that in mind, after taking a deep breath, Kisame stepped forward and made his way onto campus. He pulled out the letter he'd received from the college as he did so, flicking through the information they'd given him to note where he needed to go next. Immediately he headed over there, the weight of his bags not bothering him in the slightest, to collect the information pack that would give him all he needed to know about the college. He didn't notice the glances in his direction; after having dealt with it his entire life, Kisame had learned to block it out and so went on his way as normal, being given the envelope, flicking through to see what was in there and then picking out his dorm on the map. It made sense to make it his next destination. He wanted to unpack and put his stuff somewhere, as well as settle in to the new environment, and therefore set off again to find it./p  
p class="MsoNormal"His dorm was Ame Hall. He liked what he knew about it so far; it was on the edges of the campus, hidden among a copse of trees that secluded it from the rest of the college. It might have been a bit of a longer walk to get to classes, but Kisame hadn't liked the idea of being put in the thick of it, right in the centre of the campus. His dorm was a place he could get away, and Kisame wouldn't have to deal with so many people. Another smile flickered across Kisame's features as he finally reached the building, his nerves disappearing further into the recesses of his mind as he continued up the path and made his way inside. It was quiet within the dorm, but as Kisame walked down the corridor and looked around, he couldn't see anyone and gathered he was a little early. Shrugging it off for the time being, he took a look around the communal areas and got himself a glass of water while he had the chance, before eventually opting to head to his room./p  
p class="MsoNormal"Pulling out the paper with the information on it, Kisame glanced over it and noted it was first floor, number 7 as he simultaneously picked up his bags and tucked it back into his pocket as he made his way to the stairs and ascended. Whistling as he went along, he fell silent as he reached the first floor, glancing around to get a look at the numbers on the doors, before determining his room was down the left corridor and turning to go that way. He'd been too focused on finding his room to really pay attention to what was around him, so it took him a while to noticed there was someone headed his way. Evidently, they'd been concentrating as little as he had, however, as it wasn't until they were a few steps way from each other that they came to a halt, Kisame watching as his head tilted back as he registered how tall Kisame was to finally make eye contact./p  
p class="MsoNormal"Kisame didn't really do anything to begin with; a smile on his face by way of greeting, but nothing more. He had learned that it was best to wait for them to make the first move, meaning he stood there in silence, seeing an unusual intensity in the guy's dark eyes. With his long dark hair and admittedly handsome features, Kisame could guess he'd be pretty popular, which gave him ever more reason to be wary, especially as the guy looked him over and something flickered through his eyes—before suddenly it faded, and his expression became more open. Taking this as a good sign and beginning to find the silence a little awkward, Kisame finally managed to greet quietly,/p  
p class="MsoNormal""Uh…hey."/p  
p class="MsoNormal""Hello. Sorry I bumped into you. I'm Itachi Uchiha," he responded simply, breezing past any awkwardness there may have been before. Kisame hesitated slightly, his eyebrow raising at hearing the name 'Uchiha', but immediately noted the look on Itachi's face; inwardly hoping for them not to mention anything, to just act like it wasn't important—he'd made the same expression enough times when meeting new people. As such, he switched to another smile, responding warmly,/p  
p class="MsoNormal""Nice to meet you Itachi. You on this floor too?"/p  
p class="MsoNormal"Right away the look in Itachi's eyes became sincerer, a small smirk appearing as they did so, and nodding, he pointed to the other end of the corridor, explaining simultaneously,/p  
p class="MsoNormal""Yeah. I'm the last on the right. Is yours this way?"/p  
p class="MsoNormal"Kisame responded by walking to his room and unlocking the door, stepping inside and turning around with a grin to state playfully,/p  
p class="MsoNormal""Right here."/p  
p class="MsoNormal"Shaking his head with a smirk, Itachi came to the doorway to watch as Kisame threw his bags on his bed, turning back round to question,/p  
p class="MsoNormal""So, are you the first one here?"/p  
p class="MsoNormal"Shaking his head, Itachi gestured with his thumb behind him, beginning to elaborate,/p  
p class="MsoNormal""No; well, I was here before anyone, but the room across from you—number 9—that's now occupied. He—" but before Itachi had a chance to say anything more, Kisame spotted blonde hair behind his shoulder, and abruptly Deidara stepped out and announced triumphantly,/p  
p class="MsoNormal""That would be me, un."/p  
p class="MsoNormal"Smirking at his ego, Kisame introduced himself as Deidara did the same in return. Just as with Itachi, Kisame paused to see what Deidara's reaction would be to meeting him, but was relatively surprised to find that he merely seemed curious, and nothing more. This automatically relaxed Kisame further, and they remained where they were, casually making small talk with one another, until the sound of footsteps echoed out and they unconsciously turned to see what was making the noise. There was no guarantee that this person would be on their floor, but it appeared to be the case as they stopped at the top of the stairs, showing no signs of ascending any further, and scanned the hallways, his eyes eventually alighting on the three of them./p  
p class="MsoNormal"He certainly didn't look old enough to come to college; Deidara barely looked sixteen, but this kid was practically child-like. His red hair was tousled, as if he had woken up like that, and he was about half Kisame's height, but there was something about the expression on his face that gave Kisame the feeling that not only was he older than he looked, but a lot more mature, as well. For a moment there was silence as they looked each other over, before the guy frowned and murmured softly,/p  
p class="MsoNormal""Guess I'm late." span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span/p 


End file.
